China has reportedly lifted its 14-year ban on video game sales, if only temporarily.

According to Reuters, the government has made good on its plan to allow companies like Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo to peddle their products in the region.

Today's announcement comes about three months after China's State Council approved rules to allow for the sale of game consoles as part of a new free-trade zone within Shanghai. But, assuming the Ministry of Culture approves each device, gadget makers could conceivably sell their machines across the country.

The console ban was put into effect in 2000 in an effort to protect the "physical and mental development" of China's youth. But the ban isn't strongly enforced, nor has it curbed gaming in the region.

China boasted nearly $14 billion in video game revenues last year, based predominantly on PC titles; browser and mobile games accounted for a combined 30 percent of the market, Reuters reported. Meanwhile, most teens have grown up without a PlayStation, Xbox, or Wii.

The Chinese State Council did not specify for how long the ban will be lifted. But according to Reuters, the suspension will permit "foreign-invested enterprises" to make consoles within Shanghai's free trade zone and sell them in the country, barring inspection by cultural departments.

About the Author

Stephanie began as a PCMag reporter in May 2012. She moved to New York City from Frederick, Md., where she worked for four years as a multimedia reporter at the second-largest daily newspaper in Maryland. She interned at Baltimore magazine and graduated from Indiana University of Pennsylvania (in the town of Indiana, in the state of Pennsylvania) w... See Full Bio

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